"A home without books is a body without soul."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero

This morning I was driving to breakfast at my favorite Nashville morning spot, Noshville, and one of my FAVORITE songs came on. I IMMEDIATELY went from "waking up" to "FIRED UP!" I thought, "What a good FEED for my SOUL!" I was motivated and inspired... by a song. Wow.

What FEEDS your soul? What makes you SMILE on the inside? A book, a song, maybe the quick email of a loved one?

The point is that you can very EASILY improve every day or your life and lives of others, if you KNOW how to feed your soul and learn to feed others. I know that certain songs, quotes and opportunities give me a HIGH that I cannot experience otherwise. As a result, I seek those daily. Hopefully, you are doing the same.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The process of defining the "feeds" for your soul is very simple. Think back in the last week about the times you felt BEST - what was going on?

For me, I was going door to door, promoting a seminar we are doing next week. I was driving in my truck listening to a FAVORITE song. I was throwing a football in the park with my girlfriend. These are MY feeds...

As we become more AWARE of the activities that fuel our soul and ENRICH our lives, we are better able to identify the ways in which we can ask people to help, and consequently will seek to provide the same feelings and support to others.

Learn to make someone smile, help feed their soul and you will find that your DREAMS become a much easier reality!

"The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come."-James Whitcomb Riley

Success is a PROCESS of executing best actions… agree? If you do the RIGHT things, MOST of the time, you SHOULD end up attaining your success goals… What makes the DIFFERENCE between those that attain success earlier in life than others?

PERSISTENCE is the answer. Simply, it is the person that has more BELIEF and commitment to seeing their vision realized. The person that is UNWAVERING in their focus and dedication regardless of the number of "no's" they receive or the amount of ridicule they have to take.

If you know the concept of "Seven Touches," then you are aware that the mind does not register a message until the 7th interaction (unless a deep EMOTIONAL tie is pre-existing). What does this really mean? Think about it. This is the commercial you think is sooo funny and all your friends are saying, "Are you kidding me? That has been on 'forever.'" Really?? Hmm… why didn't you "see it before?"

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

Let us relate this to your business or personal GOALS. How many times do you need to approach someone or something before you get the RESULTS you are seeking? What if you gave it your "ALL" 4 times and then QUIT… unknowing that the 5th time would have worked!! You did all that dang work and quit right before the PAYOFF. This truly begs the questions, "How bad did you REALLY want it?"

Once you have DECIDED and COMMITTED to achieving a goal, stay PERSISTENT. Do NOT allow others to influence your dedication and consistency in executing the actions you believe are necessary for accomplishment. If your idea is SOLID, you FOCUS is "laser like" and you have an unwavering PERSISTENCE… your SUCCESS is just a matter of time…

And if it is TRULY IMPORTANT to you… then isn't it worth the time INVESTMENT?

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
-Will Rogers

Yesterday, I watched a YouTube video from a local speaker, Rory Vaden. His message is simple… "Success means doing things others don't want to do." This truly had me THINKING as I have been struggling with the CONSISTENCY of my lead generation at work.

I am not AFRAID, nor ASHAMED to admit that I can and do fall off the wagon on occasion. I get in SLUMPS where I don't FEEL like making the cold calls, doing the early morning breakfasts or meeting that PROSPECTIVE client after hours for a tasty beverage. Don't we all?

If you are HONEST with yourself, you likely have said YES. And it is OK… it happens to almost everyone. The MORE IMPORTANT question is "what do I do about it?"

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
We all have the occasional LAPSE in performance. We also have the ABILITY to quickly and effectively ADJUST that behavior.

By having a HEIGHTENED awareness of your performance behavior patterns, as well as your "triggers" for slumps and excellence, you are able to create an ACTION PLAN for overcoming your "loss of focus."

Should you find yourself needing a BOOST, always go back to the actions that PRODUCE best behaviors and results. By ACHIEVING small, simple successes, you place yourself back on the path to accomplishment and success.

Just keep moving forward… you can NEVER as long as you are doing the things other people won't!

In preparation for an upcoming Chattanooga trip, I overlooked todays Morning Motivator. Thankfully, my lovely girlfriend, Nancy, REMINDED me that the Morning Motivator had not yet been sent.

What's the lesson?? Simple, PREPARE ahead of time and you will not fail to meet deadlines. When you take a FEW minutes every day to prepare for the next day... You NEVER have to worry about executing properly!

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Take 10 minutes at the end of EVERY work day to prepare for the next.

Make a checklist of RECURRING events, projects and special items. PRIORITIZE based on importance and lay the form in front of your computer for the next morning.

If you will take the TIME to be PREPARED... You will never need your girlfriend (or other loved ones) to REMIND you to do the simple things...

"The biggest mistake you can make in life is to be continually afraid of making one."
- Author Unknown

Do you "play it SAFE" in your life? Are you FEARFUL of taking a risk because you may look Silly doing so?

When people discuss SUCCESS and the "risks" of achievement, they are RARELY discussing financial risk. More commonly, the RISK that top achievers take, is the risk of failure, embarrassment and ridicule.

The GREATEST achievers are often the people that are laughed at, told they are CrAZy and so on... They are also the people that are STONG enough to endure the pain and ridicule, taking the risk of failure, to see that the ideas they are so passionate for become true.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Ask yourself, "what the worst that can happen?" So you fail at something... Who cares?! Maybe you even embarrass yourself... Did it kill you? Of course not!

By taking the RISK of failure, embarrassment and ridicule, you are SHOWING the world that you are a top ACHIEVER. You are also showcasing your STRENGTH of character...

Winners, leaders, achievers... All take the RISK of failure! Will you?